Their plane landed at Ngurah Rai airport one hour and fifteen minutes after leaving Juanda.
“Let’s go!” Kalyana exclaimed leading their steps out of the airport building.
“What should we take to the hotel? Taxi?” asked Rajata.
“I’ve rented a car for our needs,” said Kalyana.
Before long, they arrived at the location of the rental vehicle delivery. Kalyana signed the handover letter. “Do you know where Yeh Pulu is?” she asked Rajata.
“I think I do, I’ve saved the coordinates in the GPS application.”
“You drive, then,” said Kalyana with a big smile as she handed him the car keys, “check in at the hotel later when we get home from Yeh Pulu.”
“Okay!” Rajata said, accepting the car keys, then walked into the driver’s side.
***
Arriving at Yeh Pulu, Rajata parked the car, then they walked to the residential areas around the temple.
“Come on in!” asked Kalyana while walking through the village gate.
Kalyana appro
“Excuse me!” Kalyana exclaimed, knocking on the door of the house.“Wait a minute,” a woman’s voice called out from inside the house.A few moments later the door to the house was opened by someone from inside. A woman in her mid-sixties came out of the house. “What do you need?” she asked.“Excuse me, ma’am, I’m Kalyana, and this is my friend, Rajata. We come from Surabaya. From some residents, we heard the legend of the village’s origins, and they encouraged us to meet with the elder if we wanted to know more. Can we meet him?” Kalyana explained the purpose of their arrival.“Oh, I see. Yes, Gek, please sit down, I’ll call him,” replied the woman as she opened the door wider and ushered them in. Even though she uses Indonesian, her Balinese accent is thick.“Please sit down. I call him first,” she said, leaving the living room.A few momen
Rajata immediately became agitated, trying to find a way to prevent Kalyana from making a careless decision.As if he could read Rajata’s mind, Mr. Made turned to Rajata and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Rajata, I have no bad intentions for Kalyana. I only have the responsibility to provide an explanation for Kalyana. We also don’t need to move rooms, you know, it’s enough in the living room here.”“Oh, okay, sir,” replied Rajata with a hesitant smile, embarrassed.Kalyana also looked at Rajata with an expression that seemed to try to calm her friend.“What do you want to explain to me, sir?” Kalyana asked. Her view sticks to Mr. Made.“Have you ever heard the name uhm… telepathy?” Mr. Made asked back.Rajata let out a deep breath, his forehead creased. Maybe Mr. Made is not an obscene shaman, but a crazy shaman.“Yes sir. Once,” answered Kal
Rajata and Kalyana walked downstairs outside the village without saying anything, busy with their respective thoughts. In the car, Kalyana just sat in silence on the chair looking out through the side window. Rajata concentrated on the traffic, leaving Kalyana lost in her own thoughts.“Na,” called Rajata, breaking the silence of the cabin.“Hmmm?”“So what were you going through?”Kalyana just shook her head and shuddered. “How long did I pass out?” Kalyana asked in return.“Wait, a minute or two at most, I think.”“while I passed out, what did Mr Made talk about?”Rajata explained the topic of their conversation with Mr Made earlier.“Ah, he crazy old man. Our journey here is useless,” grumbled Kalyana after hearing the story told by Rajata. “Carelessly accuse us of a couple!”Rajata just smiled and was silent, not knowing whether to believe Mr Made’s story or not.On the side of the road, he
Twilight has passed, but Kalyana is still busy doing work at the office. She doesn’t want to go home. The loneliness made her think of Armand or her experience in Bali two days ago.The phone vibrated on the table. Without looking at the phone, Kalyana accepted the call. “Hello,” she said briefly.“Na, where are you?” replied the caller.“Still in the office!” said Kalyana, “I’m busy!”“I’ll pick you up there.”“No, you don’t! You take care of your own business!”“Na, please….”“Please what?” Kalyana replied curtly.“Let me explain everything—”The phone in Kalyana’s ear tinkled, the sign of a short message.“I’ll close the connection, there was an incoming message on my phone,” said Kalyana.“From who?”“I do not know!” Kalyana said, “I haven’t opened the contents yet!”Kalyana disconnected before Armand could answer, then opened the message that came earlier. •*** Ra
Rajata looked back, following Kalyana’s eyes. Rajata’s gaze met the torso wearing a suit.A burly hand squeezed Rajata’s shoulder. “Hi,” said the owner of the hand.Rajata looks on. Armand seemed to be smiling. “Hi,” replied Rajata, smiling awkwardly.“Discussing plans for an art exhibition?” asked Armand.“Art exhibition? No, I think.”Armand’s smile slowly faded. “As expected,” he said.“Armand …,” argued Kalyana.“So what are you for Kalyana?” asked Armand to Rajata, ignoring Kalyana’s words, “her boyfriend?”“I’m not!” Rajata stammered, “we are just friends!”Armand grabbed Rajata by the collar and pulled him until Rajata stood up. “A friend who can make Kalyana stop talking to me, huh?” he snapped.“Armand!” Kalyana snapped, standing up as well.Armand’s hands were clenched into fists, ready to punch Rajata.Rajata could see Armand’s fist sliding closer. He raised his hand trying to protect his
Rajata woke up quite late that weekend. Still half asleep, his eyes stumbled to the magazine on the study table. For fun, he took the book and then lay back on the bed and read the main article.The main discussion for the month was on ongoing research at CERN.‘Counsel Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, CERN, a multinational organization in Geneva, Switzerland engaged in nuclear-physics. CERN has a device called the Large Hadron Collider, LHC, which is useful for crashing atomic particles at very high speeds. Every time two objects collide, whether a car or an electron, various materials will appear, and the materials produced by the LHC are useful in various nuclear research.’Rajata smiled wryly as he read about "Switzerland" and "physics", remembering Kalyana.‘One of the research projects carried out by CERN is about the Big Bang Theory, a theory that attempts to explain the origin of the universe. In trying to test the Big Bang theory, the LHC has pr
In the afternoon, Kalyana's phone rang. A call from Harso. Kalyana, who was spending time watching television, immediately picked it up."Hello? What’s the news, Har?" asked Kalyana."There is good news and bad news," replied Harso."The good news first, please," said Kalyana.“I've had discussions with my superiors, and after studying the story you told earlier, they allowed me to invite you as the subject of the experiment. We will help with a letter of recommendation for the Switzerland embassy in Jakarta to speed up processing your visa.""Wow!" Kalyana exclaimed stifled. "Then what's the bad news?""Since life events before death are not acceptable to the world of science, CERN does not authorize your travel and accommodation expenses," Harso replied in a weak voice. "I’m sorry, Na.""Woah!" Kalyana again exclaimed. "So what do you think I should do?""I, I hope you can come here, Na," replied Harso. "Although it cannot be proven
Harso seemed to return to the afternoon in Ouchy, the port of Lausanne. The girl, the same girl who was sitting on her back in a chair in a cafe on the edge of Lac Leman in Geneva, sat next to him, engrossed in writing. Unlike the scene in Geneva, this time there was no interference. The computer smoothly replays the events at Ouchy that afternoon.“I fall in love with you, Na,” said Harso's figure suddenly. His eyes were on the port of Ouchy.The girl stopped writing, her hands playing with her beloved black pen. “What? What do you mean, Har?” she asked, glaring at Harso.“I'm in love with you,” repeated the man, this time smiling at Kalyana.Kalyana was speechless. “Since when?” she muttered softly a moment later.Harso took a deep breath before answering. “Since I first saw you in Geneva.”Kalyana snorted. “‘Love at first sight’, you mean?” she said.